Recently, Ukraine’s attack on an Iranian commercial ship has sparked widespread concern, leading to mutual accusations between the two countries. On July 28, local time, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed the matter over the phone. Kuleba called for avoiding escalation, while Zarif stressed that all related losses must be compensated.
According to Reuters, Kuleba said on Tuesday that he warned Iran during the call not to escalate the situation and demanded it cease all support for Russia. On social media platform X, he stated that the dialogue aimed at “frank” communication and preventing things from getting worse, emphasizing that all Ukrainian actions are meant to defend the country and “resist Russian aggression,” with no intention of targeting civilian ships or civilians.
Zarif confirmed on X that Kuleba assured him the attack was unintentional and Ukraine is not seeking to escalate. He also responded firmly: “Iran is not seeking escalation either, but any attack on Iranian citizens or interests is unacceptable, and the losses must be compensated.”
On July 25, the Ukrainian military attacked an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea. Iran strongly condemned this and summoned Ukraine’s acting ambassador in Tehran.
Earlier, Zarif slammed the act as a clear violation of the UN Charter, carried out “under Israel’s direction” to drag Europe into war. He also claimed that during calls with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, he had made it clear that “the freeloader in Kiev” would not get away with his actions without consequences.
Reuters reported that over four years of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Ukraine has been repeatedly hit by Iranian-designed drones, developing countermeasures and offering assistance to Middle Eastern countries affected by Iran’s retaliation against the US and Israel this year.
On the same day, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted on X that he had also spoken with Kuleba, “discussing the challenges each country faces, including the threat posed by Iran,” and expressed hope to deepen cooperation with Ukraine.